STAFF REPORT - toronto.ca · STAFF REPORT March 7, 2005 To: ... Tel: 416-397-5323 Fax: 416-392-5600 ... former Central Prison Paint Shop wall visible on right

STAFF REPORT March 7, 2005 To: Toronto Preservation Board Toronto and East York Community Council From: Joe Halstead, Commissioner Economic Development, Culture and Tourism Subject: Garrison Common North Area Study - Inclusion of 38 Properties on the City of

Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties Trinity-Spadina - Ward 19 Parkdale-High Park - Ward 14 Purpose: This report recommends City Council include 38 properties from the Garrison Common North Area Study on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties. Financial Implications and Impact Statement: There are no financial implications resulting from the adoption of this report. Recommendations: It is recommended that: (1) City Council include the following 38 properties from the Garrison Common North Area

Study on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties: (2) The appropriate City Officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to

give effect thereto. Background: The City of Toronto’s Urban Development Services has requested staff’s assistance in identifying heritage resources for a Community Improvement Plan for Garrison Common North, as well as a Built Form and Density Policy for the Niagara Neighbourhood. Both areas are

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within Garrison Common, the former military lands that extend from Bathurst to Dufferin Streets and from Lake Ontario to Queen Street West. To assist with the identification of heritage resources in Garrison Common North, staff have revisited an area study from the early 1990s that was commissioned by the Toronto Historical Board, the heritage agency of the former City of Toronto. As a result of the study, Council listed the Modern buildings at Exhibition Place on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties. Additional properties in the Liberty Street and Niagara Street neighbourhoods of Garrison Common were researched, but the process to list these heritage resources was never completed. Comments: With recent building activity in Garrison Common North, particularly in the Liberty Street area south of King Street West and west of Strachan Avenue, it is important that existing heritage resources are identified and included on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties. The inclusion of properties identified in the Garrison Common North Area Study on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties will enable staff to monitor applications affecting them and encourage the retention of their character defining features. Staff have revisited the Liberty Street and Niagara Street neighbourhoods and prepared the Garrison Common North Area Study (Attachment No. 2). The study includes an historical overview of the area, as well as descriptions of the properties with photographs that comprise the Reasons for Listing (Attachment No. 3). Location Maps (Attachment No. 1) are attached. Staff continue to review the remainder of the study area and may bring forward additional properties for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties. Conclusions: It is recommended that City Council include the 38 properties listed in Recommendation No. 1 on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties. Contact: Rita Davies Executive Director of Culture Tel: 416-397-5323 Fax: 416-392-5600 E-mail: [email protected] Joe Halstead

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Commissioner Economic Development, Culture and Tourism List of Attachments: Attachment No. 1 – Location Maps (Garrison Common North Area Study) Attachment No. 2 – Garrison Common North Area Study (Historical Overview) Attachment No. 3 – Garrison Common North Area Study (Reasons for Listing and Photographs)

LOCATION MAP: GARRISON COMMON NORTH AREA STUDY ATTACHMENT NO. 1A

1177 King St W

1195 King St W

107 Atlantic Ave

40 Hanna Ave

39 Mowat Ave

219 Dufferin St

66 Fraser Ave

41 Fraser Ave

7 Fraser Ave

LOCATION MAP: GARRISON COMMON NORTH AREA STUDY ATTACHMENT NO. 1B

130 East Liberty St

LOCATION MAP: GARRISON COMMON NORTH AREA STUDY ATTACHMENT NO. 1C

148 Tecumseth St 703-705 Richmond St W

719-721 Richmond St W

89 Niagara St 135-163 Niagara St

542-552 Wellington St W

222 Niagara St

660 Adelaide St W

GARRISON COMMON NORTH AREA STUDY ATTACHMENT NO. 3

660 Adelaide Street West: Toronto Electric Light Company Substation

Description: The property at 660 Adelaide Street West is recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for its cultural resource value or interest. The substation was build in 1908 according to the plans of Toronto architects Chadwick and Beckett. The facility was commissioned by the Toronto Electric Light Company, a private enterprise established in 1884 to provide street lighting using electricity generated at Niagara Falls. When the City of Toronto established its own municipality utility in 1908, the new Toronto Hydro-Electric Power Commissioners acquired this property and renamed it the Defoe Station. Significance: The Toronto Electric Light Company Substation is architecturally significant as a good example of early 20th century industrial design highlighted by Classical detailing. Anchoring the northwest corner of Adelaide Street West and Tecumseth Street, the building is contextually important as a visible feature in the Niagara Street neighbourhood of Garrison Common North. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the building are found on the exterior walls and roof. Clad and trimmed with red brick, the structure rises 2½ extended stories under a steeply pitched gable roof. The principal (east) façade features a parapet wall with corbelled brickwork. Brick pilasters with capped piers on the corners symmetrically organize the east wall into five bays. Blind fanlights with brick voussoirs surmount flat-headed door and window openings. The pattern of oversized flat-headed window openings with fanlights above is continued on the long side (north and south) elevations, while the rear (west) wall lacks embellishment.


107 Atlantic Avenue: Bradshaw and Company Factory

Description: The property at 107 Atlantic Avenue is recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for its cultural resource value or interest. The building was constructed in two sections. In 1905, the north end of the structure was completed according to the designs of Toronto architect Henry Simpson. During a brief partnership with Robert Young, Simpson designed the south section in 1910. I. D. Bradshaw and Company, manufacturers of chewing gum, waxed paper and proprietary medicines, commissioned the factory. The National Fibre Company later occupied the site. Significance: The Bradshaw and Company Factory is architecturally significant as a well-designed early 20th century industrial facility distinguished by its Classical embellishments. Its design, marked by a distinctive pediment, complements the Canadian Bank of Commerce Book Vaults at 98 Atlantic Avenue, opposite. Located on the east side of Atlantic Avenue, north of King Street West, the building is an important component of the Liberty Street neighbourhood in Garrison Common North. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the building are found on the exterior walls and roof. Rising two stories, the building is constructed of brown brick with brick and stone trim. The flat roof is extended by a brick chimney and, at the west end, a parapet wall that comprises the principal façade. The west wall is symmetrically organized into two sections beneath a semi-circular pediment with a nameplate. The principal entrance is located at the left (north) end where the first storey is encased in stone beneath a bracketed cornice. A segmental-arched doorcase with decorative detailing holds double doors (now replaced) and a multi-paned transom. The rest of the wall contains segmental-arched openings with double windows that are surmounted by stone hood moulds and keystones. The pattern of segmental-arched window openings continues along the side elevations (north and south).


219 Dufferin Street: Sunbeam Incandescent Lamp Factory

Description: The property at 219 Dufferin Street is recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for its cultural resource value or interest. The main factory and adjoining powerhouse were completed in 1908 for the Sunbeam Incandescent Lamp Company of Canada according to the designs of Toronto architect F. H. Herbert. The complex was expanded following the acquisition of Sunbeam by the Canadian General Electric Company and its subsidiary, the Radio Valve Company of Canada in 1911. The following year, the south wing, extending south of the main building along Dufferin Street, was designed by the notable New York City architectural firm of Carriere and Hastings in association with local architect Eustace C. Bird. Significance: The Sunbeam Incandescent Lamp complex, with the factory, south wing and powerhouse, is architecturally significant as a good example of early 20th century industrial design with features of Edwardian Classicism. With its scale and prominent location on the southeast corner of Dufferin Street and Liberty Street, the complex marks the west end of the Liberty Street neighbourhood in Garrison Common North. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the building are found on the exterior walls and roofs of the main factory, south wing and powerhouse. The main factory rises 3½ extended stories above a base with window openings. Clad with red brick, the structure is covered by a steeply pitched gable roof with a glazed monitor. The principal (west) façade features a parapet wall that is organized vertically by brick piers and buttresses with stone caps and horizontally by stone belt courses. In the first floor, the main entrance is identified by its stone surround, gabled pediment and nameplate. The adjoining wall mixes flat-headed and round-arched window openings with brick voussoirs and stone keystones. The symmetrical placement of the fenestration is continued on the north wall along Liberty Street. Attached to the south wall, the wing features red brick cladding, a flat roof and the organization of flat-headed window openings by brick piers with stone detailing. At the east end of the site, the single-storey powerhouse with its red brick cladding, round-arched openings, buttresses and corbelling adjoins a tall brick chimney that is a


neighbourhood landmark.

former Central Prison Paint Shop wall visible on right

130 East Liberty Street: Liberty Storage Warehouse (incorporating part of the Central Prison Paint Shop)

Description: The property at 130 East Liberty Street is recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for its cultural resource value or interest. The Liberty Storage Warehouse was completed in 1929 according to the designs of Toronto architects Kaplan and Sprachman. The east wall of the warehouse is composed of a portion of the Paint Shop from the Central Prison, a facility for the incarceration of male convicts that operated on the west side of Strachan Avenue from 1873 to 1915. Behind a central administration building, the complex included several auxiliary structures where inmates learned a trade making products that were sold to raise revenue for the institution. A one-storey Paint Shop, built circa 1879, is attributed to Kivas Tully, Provincial Architect from 1867 to 1890. In 1888, prison labourers added a second storey to the Paint Shop. Following the closure of Central Prison, the A. R. Williams Company, dealers in machinery and supplies, acquired the portion of the grounds containing the Paint Shop. Significance: The Liberty Storage Warehouse is historically, architecturally and contextually significant for its association with the Central Prison for Men. With the Roman Catholic Chapel, it is one of only two surviving remnants from the prison complex. Located on the north side of East Liberty Street, between Strachan Avenue and Hanna Avenue, the Liberty Storage Warehouse is a core component of the Liberty Street neighbourhood in Garrison Common North. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the building are found on the exterior walls and roof. Constructed of brick and steel with brick and stone trim, the building features a 2½ rectangular plan under a gable roof with single-storey flat-roofed wings on the east and west sides. On the principal (south) facade, a large door opening is centered in the lower


storey and pairs of flat-headed openings with multi-paned steel windows are placed in both floors. The rear (north) wall displays similar openings. A painted sign identifying the "A. R. Williams Machinery Company - Liberty Street Plant" fills the area beneath the gable end on the south wall. Above the wings, the side (east and west) elevations have clerestory windows and corner buttresses. The west (right) wing has paired flat-headed window openings. On the east (left) wing, a large cargo door opening marks the south facade. The lower west wall and a fragment of the south facade of the Central Prison Paint Shop are incorporated at the east end of the Liberty Storage Warehouse. The interior, with its steel frame support system and open span, is included in the Reasons for Listing.

Above: excerpt from Goad’s Atlas (1910 revised to 1912) showing the two surviving remnants from the Central Prison for Men

West wall of Central Prison Paint Shop (now at east end of Liberty Storage Warehouse)

Central Prison Chapel

Strachan Avenue


north building south building

7 Fraser Avenue: Expanded Metal and Fireproofing Company Factory

Description: The property at 7 Fraser is recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for its cultural resource value or interest. The first storey of the building was completed in two sections in 1908 and 1909 according to the plans of Toronto architect F. H. Herbert. The Expanded Metal and Fireproofing Company, producers of expanded metal reinforcement products, commissioned the factory and supervised its construction in conjunction with the Leach Concrete Company. In 1930, architect F. S. Mallory designed the second storey that was added to the west end of the building for the Canada Metal Company. To the south of the factory complex, the complementary two-storey concrete building was built in 1909 as a garage and workers’ residence. Significance: The Expanded Metal and Fireproofing Company Factory is architecturally significant as an important example of industrial design that marked an early use of reinforced concrete construction in Toronto. It was designed as a showcase for the construction materials produced on the site. Located on the east side of Fraser Avenue near the south end of the street, the Expanded Metal and Fireproofing Company Factory contributes contextually to the Liberty Street neighbourhood in Garrison Common North. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the building are found on the exterior walls and roof. Constructed of concrete, the structure rises two stories beneath a flat roof with parapets and a penthouse extension on the west end. Buttresses extend above the cornice dividing the floors to organize the long principal (west) façade. The first storey contains a mixture of entrances with oversized industrial windows, while the upper floor displays flat-headed window openings.


above: factory from Fraser Avenue (left) , Liberty Street (centre) & Pardee Avenue (right)

41 Fraser Avenue: Gillett Company Factory Complex

Description: The property at 41 Fraser Avenue is recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for its cultural resource value or interest. In 1912, the factory, office building and powerhouse were completed for the E. W. Gillett Company, manufacturers of baking powder, yeast cakes and related products. The Toronto architectural firm of Denison and Stephenson designed the original parts of the complex in association with American architect S. S. Beman. A grain elevator and mill were placed along the Pardee Avenue side of the property in 1916. The welfare building, added to the site in 1922 according to the architectural plans of W. L. Symons, was one of the first in Canada where recreation and dining facilities were provided for factory workers. Completed in 1942, the warehouse was among the last designs prepared by the celebrated Toronto architect John M. Lyle. The Gillett Company was succeeded by Standard Brands Limited, which made food stocks under the Fleischmann and Chase and Sanborn labels. Significance: The Gillett Company Factory Complex is architecturally significant as a well-designed collection of industrial buildings linked by Neo-Gothic detailing derived from medieval sources. Anchoring the southeast corner of Fraser Avenue and Liberty Street and marked by a distinctive tower, the complex is a core component of the Liberty Street neighbourhood in Garrison Common North. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the building are found on the exterior walls and roofs of the factory, office building, welfare building and warehouse. The buildings share red brick cladding with brick and stone detailing. The four-storey factory features a crenellated roof, stone band courses, brick banding, and a mixture of flat-headed window openings with brick trim and segmental-arched openings with keystones. The north entrance is set in a stone surround at the base of the prominent corner tower that sets the architectural tone for the site. A Gothic inspired bridge connects the factory to a two-storey office building with similarly placed and detailed fenestration. The principal (west) entrance to the offices is placed in a frontispiece with a crenellated roof. Located to the rear (east) of


the office building, the welfare building complements the complex with its height and detailing. Facing Fraser Avenue to the south of the office building, the warehouse respects the scale and cladding of the complex while adding a Modern design aesthetic with its streamlined appearance and use of round windows and glass blocks.

bridge between office building warehouse (right) factory & office

historical view of Welfare Building (Construction magazine, March 1924)

Office Building

Factory

Warehouse

Welfare Building


south of courtyard north of courtyard

66 Fraser Avenue: Arlington Company of Canada Factory

Description: The property at 66 Fraser Avenue is recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for its cultural resource value or interest. In 1905, the Arlington Company of Canada, manufacturers of pyralin collars and combs, commissioned the factory. The original U-shaped complex was completed in 1906 according to the designs of Toronto architects Wickson and Gregg. The south wing was added in 1910, with the second-storey addition completed in 1910. Significance: The Arlington Company of Canada Factory is architecturally significant as a well-designed early-20th century industrial building with exaggerated Classical elements associated with the Renaissance Revival style. The factory anchors the southwest corner of Fraser Avenue and Liberty Street, and contributes contextually to the Liberty Street neighbourhood in Garrison Common North. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the building and additions are found on the exterior walls and flat roofs. The different parts of the complex are clad with red brick and trimmed with brick and precast stone. The original single-storey factory has a U-shaped plan where the courtyard formed by the “U” is entered from Fraser Avenue. On either side of the courtyard opening, stout brick columns organize the east facades into two bays. The bays adjoining the courtyard have flat-headed doors and windows beneath an oversized segmental-arched transom with brick voussoirs and multiple keystones. The shape and detailing is repeated on the single window openings in the outer bays. South of the courtyard entrance, a second storey extends the building where the piers rise to separate pairs of flat-headed window openings with multiple keystones. To the south, the single-storey addition complements the original factory with its cladding, detailing and fenestration. The wall with a pediment that marked the entrance to the courtyard has been removed.


40 Hanna Avenue: Brunswick-Balke-Collender Factory

Description: The property at 40 Hanna Avenue is recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for its cultural resource value or interest. The factory with a separate boiler house and distinctive chimney was completed in 1913 according to the plans of Toronto architect Henry Simpson. The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company manufactured billiard tables, bar fixtures and bowling alleys on the premises. Significance: The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Factory is architecturally significant as a well-designed early 20th century factory that retains its painted signage. Extending along the west side of Hanna Avenue north of Liberty Street, the complex with its landmark chimney is a prominent feature in the Liberty Street neighbourhood of Garrison Common North. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the building are found on the exterior walls and roofs of the factory and boiler house. Clad with brown brick and trimmed with brick and precast stone, the factory was constructed in three sections that rise four stories above raised basements. The flat roofs are marked with penthouse extensions and brick chimneys. The fenestration consists of large flat-headed window openings, and the north façade contains a large entrance (now altered). Painted signage that identifies the Brunswick-Blake-Collender Company and its products survives on all walls. At the west end of the property, a separate boiler house with brick cladding provides the base for a tall brick chimney that is visible throughout the Liberty Street neighbourhood and beyond.


1177 King Street West: Warden’s House, Mercer Reformatory

Description: The property at 1177 King Street West is recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for its cultural resource value or interest. The house was completed in 1894 according to the designs of Kivas Tully, the official architect for the Province of Ontario. The building purportedly served as the residence of the warden of the “Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females”, the first facility for female convicts and “fallen women“ in Canada that opened in 1878 directly south of this site. Prisoners from the neighbouring Central Prison for Men on Strachan Avenue built the Warden’s House. Significance: The Warden’s House is historically important as the only surviving component of the Mercer Reformatory. Architecturally, the residence is a good example of Queen Anne Revival design, identified by the variety of materials and the combination of elements from inspired by the Gothic Revival and Italianate styles. Located on the southeast corner of King Street West and Fraser Street, the building is an important feature of the Liberty Street neighbourhood in the Garrison Common North. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the building are found on the exterior walls and roof. Featuring an ell-shaped plan, the house rises 2½ stories beneath a hipped gable roof with tall brick chimneys and bargeboard in the gables. Above a stone base, the walls are clad with red brick and trimmed with brick and stone. A two-storey wood porch, enclosed as a sun porch in the upper floor, marks the northwest corner where it protects the main entrance on the principal (north) façade. The entry is placed in a segmental-arched opening with a transom. The fenestration on the main body of the dwelling consists mainly of round-arched window openings with stone sills and brick voussoirs and corbels. The building is extended to the rear (south) by a two-storey wing with segmental-arched window openings and, along the east wall, an open verandah.


1195 King Street West: A. B. Ormsby Factory

Description: The property at 1195 King Street West is recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for its cultural resource value or interest. In 1913, the A. B. Ormsby Company built this showroom and factory according to the designs of J. W. Gouch, the company’s engineer, for the manufacturing and display of its metallic products. Significance: The A. B. Ormsby Factory is architecturally significant as a well-designed early 20th century industrial building that incorporates Classical elements produced by the company. With the dismantling of the Pressed Metal Showroom in the 1980s (originally located on the current site of Lamport Stadium and reassembled at the Ontario Heritage Foundation headquarters at 10 Adelaide Street West), the A. B. Ormsby Building is an important historical reminder of the materials that once dominated the construction trade. Anchoring the southeast corner of King Street West and Dufferin Street and extending a full block along either street, the A. B. Ormsby Factory is a visible feature in the Liberty Street neighbourhood of Garrison Common North. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the building are found on the exterior walls and roof. Rising two stories, the complex is clad with red brick and trimmed with brick and precast stone. On the corner and along the west wall, the flat roof is decorated with a metal cornice with brackets (part has been removed) that was likely produced by the A. B. Ormsby Company. At the intersection of King and Dufferin Streets, the northwest corner of the building is bevelled. The principal entrance (now altered) is found on the corner where it is placed in a Classical doorcase with an entablature, brackets and dentils. Above the entry, an oversized segmental-arched window opening is decorated with brick voussoirs, a corbelled sill, stone corner blocks and a keystone. The pediment that marks the roof above the entry once contained a clock (now removed). On the west wall along Dufferin Street and the north elevation facing King Street West, brick piers with stone caps organize oversized window openings that are flat-headed in the first floor and segmental-arched in the second storey. The second-floor openings that abut the entrance display stone detailing.


west building on Mowat Avenue east building facing Fraser Avenue

39 Mowat Avenue: S. F. Bowser and Company Factory

Description: The property at 39 Mowat Avenue is recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for its cultural resource value or interest. The building was completed in 1910 for S. F. Bowser and Company, producers of oil tanks. The architect has not been identified. The factory replaced a baseball stadium named Diamond Park. Significance: The S. F. Bowser and Company Factory is architecturally significant as a well-designed early-20th century industrial building with features of Edwardian Classicism. The factory is set apart by its irregularly shaped plan, the result of a former railway siding that extended across the west end of the site. Anchoring the southeast corner of Mowat Avenue and Liberty Street and extending east along Liberty Street to Fraser Avenue, the complex contributes contextually to the Liberty Street neighbourhood in Garrison Common North. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the building are found on the exterior walls and flat roof. The three-storey building on Mowat Avenue is clad with red brick and decorated with brick and precast stone. The structure is covered by a flat roof with corbelled brickwork along the edges. Brick chimneys rise from the south and east ends, while a penthouse extends from the east side. The northwest corner of the factory is beveled and contains the principal entrance (the current surround is not original). Brick piers organize flat-headed window openings (the multi-paned sash windows are not original). The placement of the fenestration is repeated on the west wall and the side elevations (north and south). The south wall is partly covered by a narrow two-storey addition with flat-headed window openings and brick corbelling. At the east end of the property, a two-storey wing features a flat roof, corbelling, brick quoins, and flat-headed door and window openings. On the east wall, the window openings in the first floor are set in round-arched frames with voussoirs.


135-163 Niagara Street: Niagara Terrace

Description: The properties at 135-163 Niagara Street are recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for their cultural resource value or interest. The series of row houses were completed by 1890. Significance: The Niagara Terrace is architecturally significant as important surviving examples of late 19th century row housing. The buildings are distinguished by their unusual round bay windows that are not typical of the period. Although the structures have been altered, they are highly visible features with their placement along the curve in Niagara Street and the repetition of the bay windows. Situated on the west side of Niagara Street in the short block between Tecumseth Street and Wellington Street West, the houses contribute contextually to the residential character of the Niagara Street neighbourhood in Garrison Common North. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the buildings are found on the exterior walls and roofs. Rising 2½ stories under cross-gable roofs, the buildings are clad with red brick and trimmed with contrasting yellow brick and stone (in many cases, the brickwork has been painted or stuccoed). On each unit, the two-storey round bay window with flat-headed window openings is surmounted by a gable with a diminutive window opening. Beside each bay, an entrance in the first floor is placed beneath a flat-headed window opening in the upper storey.


left to right: 1884, 1886 & two 1887 factories

89 Niagara Street: National Casket Company Factories

Description: The property at 89 Niagara Street is recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for its cultural resource value or interest. The series of factories was developed in stages at the end of the 19th century. In 1884, Nicholas and Company commissioned architect William Wallace Blair to design a facility for the production of felt hats was constructed at the east end of the property, facing Niagara Street. Directly west, a second factory where doors, window sash and blinds, and carriage parts were manufactured appeared in 1886. Continuing west along Niagara Street and extending south on Tecumseth Street, two additional buildings were completed in 1887 for a planing mill and a rattan furniture company, respectively. The site is best known as the location of the National Casket Company. Significance: The National Casket Company Factories are architecturally significant as good examples of late 19th century industrial design that blend features from the Italianate and Romanesque Revival styles of the period. Anchoring the southeast corner of Niagara and Tecumseth Streets and extending east toward Bathurst Street, the complex is contextually important as a visible feature in the Niagara Street neighbourhood in Garrison Common North. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the complex are found on the exterior walls and roofs of the four buildings identified above. The original factory (built 1884), rising four stories under a mansard roof (added before 1900), displays red brick cladding with contrasting yellow brick detailing and flat-headed door and window openings. Its neighbour (built 1886) to the west rises three stories beneath a flat roof and displays similar cladding. Brick piers form arches that organize segmental-headed door and window openings with contrasting yellow brick hood moulds and stone keystones. The adjoining four-storey building and the 4½ storey factory on the corner of Niagara and Tecumseh (both dating to 1887) share red brick cladding, flat roofs with corbelled brickwork, and a series of piers that organize a combination of flat-headed and segmental-arched window openings. The


four-storey building introduces round-arched entrances, while the 4½-storey structure is distinguished by stone embellishments and a bevelled corner containing the main entrance.

89 Niagara Street: extract from Goad’s Atlas, 1890

1887 factories (2) 1886 1884


222 Niagara Street: Niagara Street School

Description: The property at 222 Niagara Street is recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for its cultural resource value or interest. Niagara Street School was completed in 1915 according to the designs of C. H. Bishop, architect for the Toronto Board of Education from 1890 to 1919. Significance: Prominently located on the southeast corner of Niagara Street and Adelaide Street West, Niagara Street School has architectural, historical and contextual significance as an important institutional building in the Niagara Street neighbourhood of Garrison Common North. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the building are found on the exterior walls and roof. Niagara Street School displays features associated with early 20th century Edwardian Classicism. Clad with red brick and trimmed with brick and precast stone, the structure rises three stories under a flat roof that is marked by a pair of moulded cornices. Attention is focused on the northwest corner, which is curved to address the angle where Niagara Street intersects with Adelaide Street West. At the corner, the wall is organized vertically by brick piers and horizontally by a stone band course and brick corbelling. Flat-headed window openings with precast stone lintels and sills are arranged in singles, pairs and multiples. The pattern of the fenestration is continued on all elevations, with the exception of the portion of the south wall where a bow window is a highly visible feature.


#703-705 #719-721

703-705 and 719-721 Richmond Street West: Garrison Common Cottages

Description: The properties at 703-705 and 719-721 Richmond Street West are recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for their cultural resource value or interest. The buildings are surviving examples of the 16 double Garrison Common cottages that were completed in 1858-1859 for James Lukin Robinson. The brother of the Chief Justice of the Province of Upper Canada, J. L. Robinson was a prominent attorney and land developer who directed the construction of the cottages for workers’ housing. Significance: The Garrison Common Cottages are historically, architecturally and contextually significant as surviving examples of the mid-19th century residential dwellings associated with the area. Located on the south side of Richmond Street West, between Tecumseth and Niagara Streets, the cottages contribute contextually to the residential character of the Niagara Street neighbourhood in Garrison Common North. The two pairs of cottages at 703-705 and 719-721 are the most intact of the group and are representative of the type. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the buildings are found on the exterior walls and roofs. Covered by hipped roofs with double brick chimneys, the single-storey cottages are clad with brick. The principal (north) facades of each pair are symmetrically organized into three bays with a central door flanked by a pair of flat-headed window openings.


148 Tecumseth Street: Memorial Baptist Church

Description: The property at 148 Tecumseth Street is recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for its cultural resource value or interest. Tecumseth Baptist Church originated as a mission of Immanuel Baptist Church, located near Yonge and Church Streets. Built in 1897, this is the second church on the site. The plans for Memorial Baptist Church were prepared by Langley and Langley, the Toronto architectural firm that specialized in ecclesiastical designs. Toronto entrepreneur William Davies, founder of Canada Packers, financed its construction as a memorial to his daughter, Emma Davies. The church has more recently housed a Ukrainian Baptist congregation. Significance: Anchoring the northwest corner of Tecumseth Street and Richmond Street West, Memorial Baptist Church has architectural, historical and contextual significance as an important institutional building in the Niagara Street neighbourhood in Garrison Common North. The church is designed with features of Arts and Crafts styling. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the building are found on the exterior walls and roof. Constructed of brick (now concealed by stucco), the building extends over 2½ stories with a long rectangular plan and lower side aisles. The nave is covered by a steeply-pitched gable roof with extended chimneys at the northeast and northwest corners. The south gable features decorative woodwork (the original half-timbering has been replaced by stucco). The wood detailing is repeated on the southwest porch where an entrance is placed in a pointed-arch surround beneath a flat-headed tripartite window opening. On the south wall of the nave, the fenestration consists of a trio of diminutive flat-headed window openings, one set in a pointed-arch surround, and a pair of lancet windows beneath a flat-headed tripartite window opening. On the side elevations (east and west), the aisles display segmental-arched window openings between unusual battered buttresses. Attention is focused on the square tower with a conical roof that marks the southeast corner. A entrance is placed in a gabled frontispiece on the east face of the tower, while the remaining walls display a combination of pointed-arched and flat-headed window openings. The rear (north) wall incorporates lancet windows.


642-652 Wellington Street West: Weller-Stares Houses

Description: The properties at 642-652 Wellington Street West are recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for their cultural resource value or interest. The row of five attached houses was completed in 1891 by A. Weller and Company, contractors, for owners Albert Weller and James Stares. Significance: The Weller-Stares Houses are architecturally significant as good examples of Queen Anne Revival design, the style popularized for residential construction in the late 19th century and identified by the variety of materials and embellishments. Located on the north side of Wellington Street between Tecumseth and Niagara Streets, the houses contribute contextually to the Niagara Street neighbourhood in Garrison Common North. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the buildings are found on the exterior walls and roofs. Clad with brick and trimmed with brick, stone and wood, the houses rise 2½ stories above a raised basement and beneath a steeply pitched gable roof. On the south slope, a single gable at the east end is placed beside two double gables with decorative wood trim. The gables surmount two-storey square bay windows with segmental-arched window openings, some of which contain stained glass transoms. The entrances to the units are placed in pairs between the bay windows, with a single entry at the left (west) end. The doors (some have been replaced) are set in flat-headed surrounds with square transoms. The side elevations (east and west) abut the adjoining buildings.


677 Wellington Street West: Wellington Destructor

Description: The property at 677 Wellington Street West is recommended for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties for its cultural resource value or interest. The Wellington Destructor began operations in 1925 as a garbage incineration facility for the City of Toronto. G. W. F. Price, City Architect prepared the original plans, which were modified by his successor, J. J. Woolnough who designed the ash bin building. The Wellington Destructor was the second high temperature forced draught incinerator after the Don Incinerator (built in 1917 and demolished in 2004). After the City turned to landfill for garbage disposal, the Metropolitan Toronto Works Department converted the Wellington Street facility to a transfer station. Significance: The Wellington Destructor is architecturally significant as a surviving example of an early 20th century industrial structure designed with elements of Modern Classicism. Located on the south side of Wellington Street West near Niagara Street, the building is a local landmark in the Niagara Street neighbourhood in Garrison Common North. Heritage Attributes: The heritage attributes of the building are found on the exterior walls and roof. Constructed of steel and concrete and clad with red brick and precast stone, the building rises 2½ extended stories under a flat roof with parapets. The raised base features channeled brickwork and flat-headed door and window openings. Above a stone band course, the upper stories display round-arched and flat-headed window openings that are stacked in two-storey round-arched surrounds with keystones. At the northwest corner, the 1½-storey ash bin building has similar cladding, detailing and flat-headed openings. A concrete bridge with arched supports connects the structure to the street. The three monumental chimneys associated with the site have been removed.

ATTACHMENT NO. 2

Garrison Common North Area Study: Historical Overview

Garrison Common is bounded by Bathurst Street, Lake Ontario, Dufferin Street and Queen Street West. When the Town of York was founded in 1793, over 1000 acres of land along the north shore of Lake Ontario between the townsite and the Humber River was set aside for military use. Fort York was built at the mouth of Garrison Creek. As early as 1797, the Town of York began expanding westward into the military reserve. In the 1830s, additional land in Garrison Common was opened for residential development that extended west to Bathurst Street. With the incorporation of the City of Toronto in 1834, the municipality’s west boundary was moved to Dufferin Street. Beginning in the 1840s and continuing into the next century, the land between Bathurst Street and the natural barrier provided by Garrison Creek slowly developed into a residential neighbourhood interspersed with churches, schools and public buildings. Further west, portions of Garrison Common were devoted to institutional uses, including the Provincial Lunatic Asylum and Trinity College on Queen Street West. Plans to develop the remaining lands for residential proposes changed abruptly during the 1850s when the Ontario Simcoe and Huron Railway and the Great Western Railway were the first railway companies to extend their tracks across Garrison Common. To take advantage of rail transportation, vacant land south of King Street and west of Strachan Avenue was reserved by the provincial government for the Central Prison for Men, a 20-acre facility that opened in 1871. Following the closure of the prison in 1915, all of the buildings were demolished, with the exception of the Chapel and remnants of the Paint Shop. Directly northwest of the prison, the Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women opened in 1878. Today, the warden’s house at 1177 King Street West is the only remaining structure associated with that institution. By the close of the 19th century, the area between the Central Prison and Dufferin Street was surveyed for a residential subdivision. However, with the proximity of the railway tracks and the completion of the King Street Railway Overpass, industry gravitated here. Inglis, manufacturers of boilers, heavy machinery and latterly electrical appliances, occupied the former Central Prison lands while, directly north, the Massey-Harris (later Massey-Ferguson) Company built an industrial complex to produce agricultural implements that were sold around the world. After World War II, when most industries moved to the suburbs, many buildings stood vacant. While the structures associated with Inglis and Massey-Harris (with the exception of the former Massey-Harris Office Building at 954 King Street West) were razed, numerous other industrial buildings remain. With the recent revitalization of the area, many have been rehabilitated for commercial uses, while others are undergoing conversions to residential condominiums. With the exception of Exhibition Place, relatively few properties within Garrison Common are currently recognized on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties. This report recommends that 38 properties in Garrison Common North be added to the City’s heritage inventory.

Documents

STAFF REPORT - toronto.ca · STAFF REPORT March 7, 2005 To: ... Tel: 416-397-5323 Fax: 416-392-5600 ... former Central Prison Paint Shop wall visible on right